We love our city and so do the Cambridge Cats, Fitz and Will. We've worked with their creator and publisher, Little Cam Books, to share with you a brand new story this festive season.
Be sure to scroll to the end to learn more about the cats and the famous children’s picture books they feature in.
Keep scrolling to join Fitz, Will and their new friend larking around Cambridge this festive season.
Knowing them, there's sure to be mischief, excitement and fun along the way, as they scamper and scatter and pitter-pat-patter around Cambridge today!
One cold and frosty winter’s day
When Cambridge is covered in snow
Fancy-foot Fitz and Whisker-Twitch Will,
Two Cambridge cats you might know
Are having some fun on the snowy stone lions
Outside the famous Fitzwilliam,
When there on the wall they notice a cat
Sleeping outside the museum.
Who can he be? They give him a prod,
He miaows as he opens his eyes,
‘Senhor! Senhora!' I’m Lion-heart Leo,
I come as a big surprise!’
‘Where are you from?’ Fitz and Will are excited,
‘Brazil!’ Leo holds out his paw.
‘I’m Leo from Rio – I’ve heard about Cambridge,
Perhaps you can give me a tour?’
The Cambridge cats set off with their friend,
briskly in case he gets cold,
Fitz says they’ll show him the wonders of Cambridge,
Some of them centuries old.
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Written by Laura Robson Brown
Illustrated by Jia Han
Devised by Katherine Mann
Narrated by Elis James
Cambridge University Press
&
Fitz and Will
The Cambridge Cats
Passing Fitzbillies, they gaze at the cakes,
‘I’m hungry!’ says Leo, ‘Yum yum!
I try to learn English, I’m not very good,
But also that’s why I have come!’
The Grasshopper clock is first on their list,
The pendulum ticks left and right,
‘Supreendente! Amazing!’ says Leo,
‘Let’s stay here all day and all night!’
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’ Poor Leo runs off,
Fitz and Will follow his trail.
They pitter-pat-patter to Magdalene Bridge
And sit watching punts from the rail.
‘It’s beautiful! Beautiful!’ Leo exclaims,
‘Just look at the boats and the river!’
He waves with excitement - and nearly falls in –
Before settling down with a shiver.
‘Be careful!’ The Cambridge Cats tell their new friend,
‘The Cam water’s certainly cold!
Perhaps we should take you this way to St John’s,
A College five hundred years old.’
‘Wow! Wow!’ Leo laughs, ‘Is this Cambridge or Venice?’
Will tells him that this Bridge of Sighs
Looks almost the same as the one that he’s seen,
But the Cambridge one wins the top prize!
‘I rest now,’ says Leo, and sits on the wall,
A smile spreading over his face,
‘It’s perfect, this Cambridge, I love it so much,
It’s perfect, this wonderful place!’
‘We’ll take you to Trinity next’, say the cats,
And scamper down Trinity Street.
‘Oh no!’ Leo cries, ‘So busy, so busy -
A bike, it ran over my feet!’
At the Great Gate of Trinity crowds are outside,
Dressed in a rainbow of hues,
‘Like Carnival colours!’ says Leo with glee,
‘Where are my dancing shoes!’
‘It’s party time here’, the Cambridge Cats say,
‘The students are having some fun.
After exams or the end of a term
They celebrate work being done.’
Scamper and scatter and pitter-pat-patter,
Leo tries hard to keep up,
Fitz and Will run along cold King’s Parade
But looking back see Leo’s stopped.
Behind King’s Chapel is Clare College Court,
The cats play games in the snow,
Then side by side on the wall of Clare Bridge
They look at the river below.
A punt passes by and they leap for a ride,
Next to some party balloons,
Gliding past Queens’ Mathematical Bridge
By the light of a silvery moon.
‘Keep going!’ calls Fitz and they wait at the gate
Of the famous King’s College at last,
‘I’m coming!’ says Leo, ‘I trip and fall down,
‘I run but I’m not very fast!’
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'We have to keep going,' says Fitz, 'our next stop
Is the market square - look at the stalls!'
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Before they can stop him, their new friend knocks over
Some waffles piled two metres tall.
‘Now for some magic,’ says Will to their friend.
‘Let’s fly through the sky, hold tight!
’The cats take the strings of the party balloons
Above Cambridge’s sparkling lights.
The festive adventure has come to an end,
Leo must be on his way,
‘My friends, obrigado! – thank you again!
I’ll come back to Cambridge one day.’
Fitz and Will wave as they watch their new friend
Set off in the light of the moon.
‘Adeus amigos!’ he waves, ‘Goodbye friends!’
‘Goodbye!’ they reply, ‘Come back soon!’
Throughout 2019 we’ve worked with charities and
good causes to create brighter futures around the world.
At this time of year we want to celebrate
their work and wish them the best for 2020.
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices
We really hope you have enjoyed
the Fitz and Will Festive Adventure.
If you want to see what else they've been getting up to,
you can buy four more great adventures in paperback
by clicking on the covers below.
You will be redirected to
our partner and the publisher of the series,
Little Cam Books, and their website
to purchase Fitz and Will books directly.
Why not share Fitz, Will and Leo's adventure around
a festive Cambridge with friends and family?
Copy the link and share the fun!
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cambridge.org/fitzandwill
Fitz and Will's Cambridge Map
© Little Cam Books 2019